Flipkart adds 14 mn cubic feet of storage ahead of festive sale

Bengaluru: Flipkart’s logistics arm Ekart has added 14 million cubic feet of warehouse space ahead of its Big Billion Days sale, increasing its storage capacity by 50%, the company said. It has also extended deliveries to more than 750 additional PIN codes as it prepares for the festive shopping rush.Technology and automation upgrades have raised Ekart’s peak order-processing capacity by more than 30%, according to Flipkart. The company has added over 900 delivery hubs to handle higher volumes of same-day and next-day orders. Across Ekart and its quick-commerce service Flipkart Minutes, Flipkart said it now operates more than 8,200 facilities. Minutes has nearly 1,200 small fulfilment centres in over 150 cities.The new delivery locations include Leh and Kargil in Ladakh, parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and towns across the Northeast. Hemant Badri, senior vice-president and head of supply chain at Flipkart Group, said customers in Leh and Kargil would be able to shop during Big Billion Days for the first time.Flipkart has placed more than 2.5 crore products from small businesses, weavers and artisans in Ekart fulfilment centres ahead of the sale. It has opened 70 additional pickup stations for sellers. Ekart’s franchise network, which also serves businesses outside the Flipkart marketplace, has doubled to 600 in two months, the company said.Flipkart has separately announced more than 2.5 lakh direct and indirect work opportunities for the festive season, including nearly 75,000 for people entering the workforce for the first time. Big Billion Days opens for all customers on Oct 9.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.